Or take it somewhere else. It could be as simple as an O2 sensor.

The problems are not uncommon for a car with 250K on the clock. Check vacuum hoses that may have dried up & are leaking. Spark plugs, a faulty ignition coil, will cause a misfire. If where you live has a lot of pollen, that can set off a engine light code. As mentioned a bad O2 sensor. The good thing is parts are readily available. One thing I would suggest is any parts you purchase, skip the aftermarket parts & spend the extra bucks to buy Toyota parts, especially if you're paying a mechanic to install them. It's not uncommon for Camrys to hit 300K & more if they have been well maintained.

Good luck, plus spending the money for a good diagnosis to repair the problem, is cheaper in the long run than using the parts cannon approach.

I've been going to them for years.

I will take the car there on Tues. and see what they have to say about it.

I drove the car about 50 miles the other day and there were no problems with it at all.

Thanks for your help, I truly appreciate it as I don't know much about cars.

This was clearly fraud. He knew and was deceptive about it but as I mentioned already, I'm in no condition for a lawsuit.

plus have a 2008 Accord as a daily driver. Have been a DIY mechanic since my dad purchased a 1959 Triumph TR3 for us to totally rebuild when I was 14 in the mid 1960s. The TR3 was a very simple car in comparison to the vehicles of the 21st century. One could debate for hours as to what was more reliable, I'd go with cars of the early 2000's. Just my humble opinion, but then have always had the luxury of having an extra car or two sitting around, thus could bide our time when one went south. OBD-II scanners are an excellent tool for diagnosing problems with modern cars with computers Most reputable shops will spend $1000s on scanners for their techs, & backyard mechanics can purchase a simple OBD-II scanner for under $50.

Again, good luck, glad you have a shop you trust, they are hard to find these days, many prey on folks that are not familiar with their car's mechanical internals & rip people off, especially women. We have a very good friends who owns a shop, he & his wife treat their mechanics like gold, many have worked for them for years. They invest in ongoing education for their staff, so their staff is up to date on the cars they repair. This all costs money, thus the increase in car repair costs in the last few decades. Of note, they are very liberal & FOX news is blocked in their waiting room.

I lost my 02 Accord on a nearby highway. I rock hit the underside and it went into a spin and flipped over and it was totaled.



Initially I bought a used Honda Civic and it was a bunch of lies that came with that one too. I sold it at a big loss recently.

Then I bought this and I thought the man was honest, esp. being he lives nearby and has neighbors looking at him.

I do trust the shop I go to, FOX news or not.

It is a job that people do and some are Democrats and other are Republicans. I try to avoid Repukes best I can but it isn't always that easy to do where I live. It is in the bluest county in Calif. however, I'll say that much.

Dishonest people are everywhere. Political party may or may not be an indicator.

Thank you for your help. I just went out and started the car up -- no engine light today. *sigh*

I had the oil light come on a few months ago. There was no oil problem, but the pressure switch has a little plastic tab that lifts the ground to the dashboard light. That tab got soft and bent, so when the diaphragm tried to push the ground tab up, it bent and the light stayed on.
New pressure switch; everything was fine.
Took them 25 minutes to change it out.
An engine light with no code sure seems like it could be a faulty sensor that is direct wired to the dash and doesn't go through the computer. Just like on my car.

See the picture I just took below.

It shows the hose from the dash with a hole in it with exposed wires.

Above the hole you can clearly see is black electrical tape from a "prior repair".

I do not know what the hose is called but I FOUND IT!

The gas cap isn't on there right. Poor mileage on this car.

I have ordered an OEM gas cap for it. Maybe that will help, I don't know.

How could the car pass smog and be sold with these problems? That's what I'd like to know.

His clearing the code without fixing the problem is illegal, might want to look into that.

He admitted to it and I saw him clear the 4-cylinder misfire code.

The problem is that the car was sold for $1500 he says on the bill of sale. It was more than that.

Sure, I have a case but I'm not up for a lawsuit.

Maybe I should just keep driving the car until it no longer runs and then donate it?

It seems to run just fine.

I cannot afford to buy another car.

Sad reality when you live in poverty and no, the $24 in SNAP money won't help me much.

I hate people that lie. This guy did that.

I'm fucked and I know it already.

I tried my best, had the car checked out before I bought it, etc.

Stupid me.

When the gas cap doesn't close properly after a fill-up, the light will go on. It's happened on more than one car of mine.

I'll be darned if I'm gonna spend the money to have it checked out just to find out the gas cap was the problem.

I looked under the hood and could see some exposed wires on one of the hoses. It has a hole in it.

I am no mechanic BUT even I, yes dummy me, could see it. It was taped up in another spot on this same hose.

no mo'!

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Last edited Sat Oct 11, 2025, 10:14 PM - Edit history (1)

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